Machines for winding tape are known, but they lack the flexibility required to accommodate a large variety of spool sizes. Some may be adjusted with proper tooling, but the tooling is custom made and expensive. Different tooling is required for each bobbin. Changeover and setup is a complex and slow process. As a result, it has been customary in plants where coils are manufactured in a great variety of sizes to apply the insulating tape manually. In such a procedure, the tape must be cut precisely to the width of the bobbin. This method is expensive because of high labor costs, and the waste of tape remnants.
Machines are available which apply tape to a coil by rotating the coil one revolution without any axial movement of the spool. The tape used in such a machine has to be cut to precisely the same width as the length of the coil between the flanges of the spool. Consequently, it is necessary to provide rolls of tape for each bobbin length and to change the roll when a bobbin of a different size is being taped. Using this machine, the coil is covered with one layer of tape.